Sherlock Returns
by SHansen
Summary: How do Sherlock and John meet after the Reichenbach Fall? What happens, and how do they each react? This story tries to answer those questions.


**Sherlock Returns**

It's too quiet. Hardly any sound, except the chirping of birds outside the motel room window. John sits on the bed, staring into space. It has been too quiet for a month now. Only on the inside a storm is raging. Anger. Loneliness. Questions that cannot be answered.

The unexpected sound of the doorbell disturbs John in his melancholy. Annoyed, John hesitates, then goes to open. He looks up at Mycroft.

"Hello John". Mycroft leans on his umbrella. It isn't raining. _The king and his scepter_, John thinks to himself.

"This is not the time for excuses". John is irritated at seeing him.

Mycroft pauses. John reads guilt in his look, but refuses to acknowledge it. Why shouldn't he feel guilty? "May I come in?", Mycroft asks solemnly.

John makes no move. Finally, he asks, "How did you know where to find me?". Mycroft responds with a knowing look. "Right", John nods, as he moves aside and let's Mycroft in.

"How have you been?" Mycroft slowly paces across the room, umbrella in his right hand, and sits down in a chair.

"Not too good", John replies with emphasis and still a note of irritation. With some effort, he sits down on the bed. His leg is aching.

Hesitating, Mycroft says, "I - well, we should try to clear Sherlock's name".

He gets a long and hard look in return. John scoffs, "Did you just say that? His name was destroyed because of you!".

Mycroft looks down briefly, then up again. "I would appreciate your help".

John stands up and walks to the window, appearing to be considering. He turns around to Mycroft. "Why do you need my help? You've got a government at your command. You did nothing when you found out that Moriarty was destroying Sherlock –"

Mycroft interrupts, "Moriarty is dead, John".

John looks shocked. "What? How?"

"He was found dead on the rooftop - where Sherlock...". Moriarty stops.

Astonished, John stares at Mycroft, his mind racing. "Are you sure, though? It would not be the first fake body I've heard of".

"Moriarty is dead. He... was shot".

John is too astonished to think clearly. Then suddenly he looks sharply at Mycroft. "You're not suggesting that Sherlock killed –"

"Of course not"! Mycroft interrupts again. "Killing Moriarty, however deserved, would only have convinced the world that Moriarty was right. Everything that Sherlock has lived for would be gone". He pauses. "He'd never have gotten another case".

John nods and stares out the window again.

Mycroft swallows. "Will you come?" He stands up.

No response for a moment. Then John turns around and heads for the door.

In the car, they both sit quietly for a while. John breaks the silence. "How can you be sure Sherlock didn't kill him? Why else would he be dead on that rooftop?"

"A man like Moriarty had many enemies". Mycroft looks away.

Angrily, John says, "Well, we need to find him. I want to know what Moriarty was doing on that rooftop. Because of him, Sherlock –" His voice breaks. Quickly regaining his posture, he continues, "Somehow, Moriarty made Sherlock jump".

Mycroft glances at him. "And what will you do if we find his murderer? Give him a medal?"

"That's an idea". John pauses. "He could know why Moriarty was on the rooftop. He has to know – why else would he know where to get him?!"

Slowly, Mycroft replies, "We will find the answers, John".

They retreat to silence.

The car pulls up at St. Barts Hospital. John feels uneasy. He intently looks down.

"What are we doing here?"

Mycroft looks at him. "It's here we'll start to find the answers". He opens the door and gets out.

Clenching his teeth, John follows Mycroft into the hospital. Mycroft heads for the lab.

"Aren't we going -" John feels slightly hopeful.

Moriarty answers his unfinished question: "Not yet". He strides along the corridor and opens the door to the lab.

John hears soft voices from inside before entering. In the doorway he freezes, eyes wide open, heart racing. He takes a step back, as if something has hit him.

Sherlock looks up from the microscope. Molly steps back.

"John". Sherlock voice is warm, but without ceremony.

John just stares at him, terrified, his face white.

Sherlock studies him, then says, "You're in shock. Yes, I am alive. No, I'm not a ghost".

In a blur, John takes a step forward, then stops. The blur lifts, and something click's in John's mind. His expression changes. Hot blood rushes through him. "I saw you jumping off the building, this very building!", John shouts.

"Yes", Sherlock replies. "But did you see me land?" Sherlock looks at John, knowingly.

"Yes, I did!" John speed-walks up to him and pushes him back, hard. "You're dead!"

"Your diagnosing skills are slipping, John".

"I'll kill you!" He takes a swing and makes Sherlock stumble against a desk. From the corner of his eye, Sherlock sees Mycroft approach, but he waves him back. He tries to get up, but John pushes him back and knocks him down again, fuelled by anger and shock.

Sherlock manages to hold him back long enough to get out a sentence: "Kill the man who saved you?!"

The words pierce through the air, and John freezes. "What?"

"Moriarty was going to kill you".

Subconsciously, John loosens his grip. Sherlock breaks free and gets up, trying to catch his breath. He straightens his collar. John gets on his feet and shifts his eyes from Sherlock to Mycroft, then back to Sherlock. "So you killed him?" There is a tremor in his voice.

"He killed himself".

"What?" John's eyes widen.

"He said he would have you, Mrs. Hudson, and Lestrade killed if I did not jump. Snipers". Sherlock brushes dust off his coat. "But he made a mistake. Told me he would not call off the killers, so I knew they could be called off. Moriarty could do it. When I told him so, he pulled a gun to his mouth".

John, still in deep shock, leans his back against the desk and draws a heavy breath. The truth is sinking in. "So you had to...". He stops. His face begins to crumble.

Sherlock looks at Molly and Mycroft, who are still standing by the door. Mycroft gestures with his hand towards John. Hesitating, Sherlock puts one hand on John's shoulder.

"John..." John covers his face with his hands.

"John... are you alright?".

John sobs. He wipes his face, and draws another heavy breath. "Yeah". Another sob. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm fine. You're alive, I'm fine". He gives a slight wave, but doesn't look at Sherlock.

Sherlock removes his hand and coughs. "I've been hiding" - he glances in Mycroft's direction - "from the public, now that my name is smeared. Meanwhile, I'm on yet another case that Mycroft's foot soldiers cannot solve". Mycroft shifts in his chair. Sherlock continues, "They have, however, helped me locate three snipers, so they're not entirely useless, I suppose".

John now looks at Sherlock. "You should have contacted me sooner".

"As ever, John, you hear, but you do not observe". Sherlock walks back to the microscope. "Your sniper needed to believe I was dead. That means you needed to believe I was dead, at least until I found the sniper". He looks through the microscope and reaches a hand into his pocket. "I need you to go to this address". There is a note in the hand that he reaches out. John hesitates for a second, then walks over and grabs the note. He looks intently at Sherlock.

"Friends protect people", he says. Sherlock glances at him and the corner of his mouth lifts. His eyes shift back to the microscope in front of him.

"When will you come back to the flat?", John asks.

"Can't risk it yet. It's too public", Sherlock replies without looking up.

John sighs and looks at the piece of paper in his hand. Suddenly, his head tilts. "Are you not going to tell me how you survived?".

A light comes into Sherlock's eyes. He looks up and smiles.

**Author's Notes**

I wrote this story firstly to satisfy my need to map out the reunion of John and Sherlock. I've then revised it to make it more readable. The ending is open - I might later attempt to write a continuation, but then I would skip the subject of how Sherlock faked his death. I'd just rather wait and see the "real deal". Hopefully, I have remained true to the characters. I would highly appreciate constructive criticism!


End file.
